Jack

“I don’t know how to put into words (what Heartspring means to her) – it’s made the difference to who Jack is now. Before he was locked into his own brain, and now he’s blossomed into this cool little boy.”
- Shauna, Jack’s mom 

Jack is an adorable little boy who receives outpatient psychological services, speech-language therapy and occupational therapy at Heartspring's Pediatric Services. In recognition of April being Autism Awareness month, we wanted to share some of the accomplishments that Jack has made.

Jack loves Star Wars. He can recite every line, name every character, and even do a spot on imitation of R2-D2 and Darth Vader. What he can’t do is tell you what any of the movies are about; the plot, the story line, or even what is happening in each scene. Jack has autism. At 10 months old Jack started walking, at 12 months old he was walking only on his tip-toes. Screaming and screeching became his only means of communication. When Jack was three he came to see Heartspring’s developmental pediatrician and was diagnosed with autism. Since then Jack has received speech-language services, occupational therapy and psychological services through Heartspring. Jack now speaks in 5-10 work utterances, is able to dress himself and is working on mastering his handwriting. His tantrums have lessened and he is able to increase eye contact with others. All of these are major accomplishments for Jack.